Half of Aussies ready to invest in overseas property

High property prices in Australia are having their toll on Aussies, with one in two Australians considering the jump to overseas investment if they were in the market as a result.

A research commissioned by WorldFirst which took a representative panel of 1,000 Australian adults saw 50 per cent of respondents saying yes, with 61 per cent of those admitting that Australia’s high property prices were the main reason to consider investing abroad.

The numbers were higher for younger Australians, with 62 per cent of 20- to 39-year-olds considering investing overseas; for those that would, “prices at home” being the main reason accounted for 67 per cent.

While returns may be thought of as the main reason why people would consider investing overseas, only 13 per cent said they would go for international investing because of growth and yields.

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Other reasons include the potential to one day retire into the property, at 11 per cent; because of benefits being taken from investing in Australian property, at 7 per cent; and low stock levels in Australia, at 4 per cent.

These properties are not just being planned as set and forget: 35 per cent would choose the property as one they could use as a holiday rental themselves; 27 per cent would choose a property to retire into; 17 per cent would include the investment into a diversified property fund; and 13 per cent would use their super to invest.

Patrick Liddy, WorldFirst’s head of foreign exchange, said that because Sydney’s housing market is considered the second least affordable in the world, and in combination with stagnant local wage growth, the fact that so many Australians are considering international investment should not be surprising.

“You can probably get more bang for your buck purchasing a ski lodge in Japan, a bach in New Zealand or a chateau in France, but it’s important to make the right financial decisions when buying an often expensive property asset overseas,” Mr Liddy said.

“Exchange rates need to be taken into account when purchasing overseas property, as a negative swing in our dollar could mean paying a lot more.”